Peakpower energy management and control system method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

An integrated Energy Management and/or Control System method and apparatus that continually monitors power consumption on each piece of equipment  2417  and performs detailed analyses of energy consumption curves including derivatives and compares data to historical data on the same equipment as well as going online and acquiring manufacturers specs and comparing to that as well as the same model number equipment in the same or other locations, in order to detect anomalies, abnormal energy consumption or provide early warning of equipment failures.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This divisional application is related to, and claims priority toprovisional utility application entitled “PEAK POWER SYSTEM,” filed onAug. 11, 2008, having an application number of 61/087,963; and furtheris related to, and claims priority to provisional utility applicationentitled “SIDECAR FOR PEAK POWER SYSTEM,” filed on Jan. 6, 2009, havingan application number of 61/142,838; and further is related to, andclaims priority to the non-provisional utility application entitled“PEAKPOWER ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL SYSTEM METHOD AND APPARATUS,”filed on Aug. 10, 2009, having an application number of Ser. No.12/538,767 (Attorney Docket No. 9159P004), the entire contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to EnergyManagement and Control Systems (EMCS).

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional Energy Management and Control Systems are not totallyintegrated into the fabric of the control panels and wiring at thecircuit level. Many times, clamp-on CT's are brought into a facility andthe circuits are monitored for a few days to characterize typical energyusage, then all the equipment and instrumentation is removed before the“Fire Marshal” arrives. The conventional methods have such a “rats nest”of wiring and instrumentation hanging out of the panels that it wouldnever pass the “Fire Marshal” inspection.

Conventional Energy Management and Control Systems do not do first andsecond derivatives and utilize historical graphs and graphs of similarequipment to anticipate equipment abnormalities and potential failures.

Conventional Energy Management and Control Systems are largely localizedat a specific location. There is no means for comparing the energyconsumption patterns of a piece of equipment at one location to the sameor similar type of equipment at another location.

Conventional Energy Management and Control Systems relays requirecontinuous energy to hold them in certain positions. A Normally Open(NO) relay requires continuous energy to keep it closed. A NormallyClosed (NC) relay requires continuous energy to keep it open.

There is a need for a relay that doesn't waste energy that will hold inany position without consuming outside energy. The instant inventionaccomplishes all these goals, and thus, the present state of the art maytherefore benefit from the PeakPower energy management and controlsystems, methods, and apparatuses as described herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly integrated,innocuous (almost invisible) energy management and control systemhardware and software, which operates continuously 24/7/365 and may bemonitored and controlled over the Internet from virtually anywhere inthe world. It silently monitors and alerts humans only when there's aproblem that it can't handle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide virtuallycontinuous, monitoring and analysis of energy consuming equipment anddetecting early warning signs of increasing energy use or potentialfailure.

Another object of the present invention is to be able to activelyremotely control energy usage and thermostats via the internet, (e.g. incase someone leaves an air conditioner on after hours).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b depict a prior art image of an existing three phasecircuit breaker, specifically in which FIG. 1 a is a Prior Art CircuitBreaker as front view 100 and further in which FIG. 1 b is a Prior ArtLFD Current Limiter 110.

FIG. 2: The PeakPower System Components illustrates the components ofthe system including the PeakPower Central Server, PeakPower GatewayCellular WAN Module, PeakPower Commander Device,Temperature-Pressure-Humidity Sensor, Gas Sensor, Liquid Sensor,Wireless Thermostat, Operational Software and various user terminals(Laptop, tablet, Cell Phone, etc.) depicted at the various elements 200PeakPower commander in a clear enclosure, 210 standard off the shelf3-phase breaker, 220 PeakPower Gateway cellular WAN module, 230PeakPower main server, 240 PeakPower software, 250 computers, PDAs, cellphones, tablets for monitoring local or remote in which colors indicatelevel of alert, 260 sensor for gas usage sends data to gateway wired orwireless, uses battery or AC power, 270 sensor for water usage, sendsdata to gateway wired or wireless, uses battery or AC power, 280 Sensorfor temperature, humidity and pressure, sends data to gateway wired orwireless, uses battery or AC power, and 290 wireless thermostat receivescommands and sends status via gateway over Internet to server, usesbattery or AC power.

FIG. 3: PeakPower Commander in Clear Case Installed beside CircuitBreaker, shows how the PeakPower Commander Sensor and communicationsunit mounts next to an existing Circuit Breaker.

FIG. 4: Photograph, PeakPower Commander Front View, shows the componentsand CT's on the front of the PeakPower Commander unit as depicted atelements 400 depicting Current Transformers (CTs).

FIG. 5: The Current Transformer (CT) used as a standard currentmeasuring device.

FIG. 6: The CT used to extract power during the intervals when it's notmeasuring, so that it supplies power to the PeakPower Commander Device.

FIG. 7: One or more of the CT's may be used for communications over thepower line(s). This figure illustrates the Transmit mode.

FIG. 8: One or more of the CT's may be used for communications over thepower line(s), figure illustrates the Receive mode.

FIG. 9: Voltage versus Current Zero Crossings at element 900 depictingZero crossing for Voltage and Current that are 180 degrees out of phase,showing how the PeakPower commander communicates near zero crossingsusing the CT that it measures current with.

FIG. 10: The PeakPower Commander Board Schematic, illustrating one ofthe preferred embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a mechanical drawing of the preferred embodiment #2 of theMulti-Stable Relay according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the preferred embodiment #2 of theMulti-Stable Relay.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the preferred embodiment #2 of theMulti-Stable Relay.

FIG. 14 is a photograph of the sub-GigaHertz wireless module used forlocal communications between Gateway and Sensors.

FIG. 15 is the “PeakPower System—Power Monitoring Architecture”. This isa high level diagram that doesn't include the entire host of monitoringdevices (e.g. Temperature, Pressure, Humidity, Gas Flow, Liquid Flow,Thermostats etc.) This is just to give a high level communicationsoverview to show how some of the key pieces of the system fit togetherand communicate in a power monitoring application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following sets forth a detailed description of a mode for carryingout the invention. The description is intended to be illustrative of theinvention and should not be taken to be limiting.

The PeakPower Management and Control System is organized as ahierarchical system (see FIG. 15). It is comprised of a Central Serverat the top which manages and controls several Gateways at severaldifferent locations.

FIG. 15 illustrates a basic PeakPower System for a Power Monitoringapplication. This is a high level diagram of the key pieces for PowerMonitoring. This includes a Gateway device at each location to gatherand manage the data at that site and forward that data up to the mainserver(s) for further processing, analysis and closed loop control. Thisdiagram doesn't include the entire host of monitoring devices (e.g.Temperature, Pressure, Humidity, Gas Flow, Liquid Flow, Thermostatsetc.). Please refer to FIG. 2 for details. This is just a high levelcommunications architecture overview to show how some of the key piecesof the system fit together and communicate in a power monitoringapplication. Note that equipment power usage characteristics and curveson a piece of equipment in Location 1 may be analyzed and correlatedwith the patterns observed on the same type equipment in Location 2 orLocation n and adjusted for environmental conditions, to determine ifit's outside a preset “corridor” of operation. If so, an ALERT or anALARM will be set dependent on how far outside limits it is or howrapidly (derivative) it's proceeding to go out of limits.

FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of the PeakPower Management and ControlApparatus that includes sensors, relays, acquisition, processing andanalysis software and operational user interface. The sensors monitorpower in the power lines, they also derive all the power required todrive the monitor module apparatus from the power lines they aremonitoring. Said modules also communicate over said power lines allwithout making physical contact with said power lines.

The Power Management and Control Software at element 240 performsstatistical analysis on all signals including first and secondderivatives and compares it to data acquired on previous dates and timesas well as comparing it to manufacturers specs as well as data from thesame model of equipment in other locations to detect early warning signsof potential failures or anomalies in the power used by this equipmentversus other same or similar equipment in order to optimize energy use.

The Power Management and Control User Interface shown replicated on theComputer, Cell Phone and PDA in element 250 uses a priority pop-upscheme to pop-up the most critical alert or alarm item out of the groupcurrently being monitored to bring instant attention to it (Bordercolored Red is a Critical ALARM) (Border colored Yellow is a warningALERT) (Border colored Green means it's within limits) and give theoperator timely data to make critical decisions instantly. There is aset of Red, Yellow, Green indicators (like idiot lights) across the top(or bottom) of the screen where the overall status of all entities beingmonitors is viewable at a glance. The Red once always pop to the upperleft corner and sound the buzzer.

If multiple ALARMS occur they propagate to the right upper corner thenthe lower left corner then finally the lower right corner if four alarmsoccur before they can be corrected and return to green status. After thescreen is full, the idiot lights at the top are used to manage furtherred and yellow ALARMS and ALERTS. As the ALARMS or ALERTS are corrected,they return to GREEN.

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe a PeakPower System, whichincludes the Peak Power Commander Sensor Module. The Peak Power Systemprovides local and/or remote control of various aspects of deviceoperation (e.g., power, security, etc.) for commercial, industrialand/or residential applications. In some embodiments, the Peak PowerSystem may monitor temperature and reset a thermostat, turn on/off anair conditioning or refrigeration unit, etc.

The Peak Power System is described in detail in U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/087,963, titled “Peak Power System” filed on Aug. 11,2008, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

A Sidecar embodiment of the “Peak Power System” is described in detailin U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/142,838, titled “Sidecar for PeakPower System” filed on Jan. 6, 2009, the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference. The “Sidecar” has since been renamed,“PeakPwr Commander”, hereinafter referred to as “PeakPower CMDR”.

The present disclosure implements the Peak Power System's energy sensorthrough a PeakPower CMDR device that may be coupled, e.g., installed,beside a conventional circuit breaker such as, but not limited to, anEaton (Cutler-Hammer) ED and FD type of circuit breaker, see, e.g., FIG.1 a. In other embodiments, the PeakPower CMDR may be configured tocouple with other circuit breakers. The PeakPower CMDR is a somewhatsimilar form factor to the LFD Current Limiter shown in FIG. 1 b.Although, the PeakPower CMDR makes no physical connection to any of thewires, except the wires pass directly through the hole(s) in thePeakPower CMDR (insulation and all in some cases) with no screwsrequired, because the wire is not physically attached to the PeakPowerCMDR.

The PeakPower CMDR may have three phases and the board mounts in thecase so that the wires go straight through the three current sensors andout the other side. There is no physical electrical connection orphysical connection required. The sensing and communications are alldone via current Transformers (CT's). Even the power to drive thePeakPower CMDR is extracted through these CT's. For instance, FIG. 6depicts element 600, in which the CT is alternately switched (Using verylow R_(DS) ON FET's) to build up power to power the PeakPower CommanderModule using Low V_(f) Schottky diodes and further in which The CTsupplies power to the PeakPower Commander Device.

The PeakPower CMDR may communicate through the wires it's monitoring orit may communicate through the Sub-GigaHertz wireless module that plugsonto the tear of the main board. Refer to FIG. 14 in which an RF Module(433 MHz or 900 MHz) is depicted having thereupon elements 1400 of achip antenna, 1401 of a crystal oscillator, 1402 of a CC 1101Transceiver, 1403 of a connector to connect to a main board or to abattery, and element 1404 of an MSP430 processor with a temperaturesensor. Note, this module has a space to plug in the temperature andhumidity sensors so that the same module can be used as theTemperature/Pressure/Humidity sensor, simply by connecting a battery toit and placing it in a separate enclosure.

The pressure sensor is a Pegasus MPL115A MEMS type sensor (very tiny).

Referring to FIG. 3, in this embodiment, there are three currenttransducers (CT) mounted on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) in a row.The three Wires are momentarily disconnected from the breaker, thenrouted through the three CT's and back into the Breaker like theynormally go, and the screws in the Breaker are used to secure the Wiresas usual.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show perspective views of a circuit breaker with thePeakPower CMDR coupled thereto in accordance with some embodiments. Thehousing of the PeakPower CMDR is shown as semitransparent in FIG. 3 andis not shown in FIG. 4.

One key element of the PeakPower CMDR is the communications methodology.The PeakPower CMDR utilizes the Current Transformer(s) (CTs) forcommunications, obviating the need for physically connecting to thewire(s).

A key novelty of this technique is that the current and voltage on theWire(s) is 90 degrees out of phase. See FIG. 9 for an illustration ofthis relationship. In prior art techniques (e.g. X-I 0) thecommunications must occur at or near the Voltage zero crossing when thevoltage in the line is at a low ebb. The PeakPower CMDR, however, ismore flexible. Since it utilizes a “Current” Transformer to communicate,it can also transmit and receive when the Line Voltage is at or near itsMAXIMUM, because that's when the Current is near zero. The PeakPowerCMDR typically sends or receives high frequency pulses during a presetnarrow window of time relative to a cycle (typically 50 Hz or 60 Hz).Also, the position of the pulse(s) within this window may be furtherinterpreted to yield even more data bits per cycle.

The liquid and gas flow meters in the preferred embodiment (FIG. 2) mayuse similar Doppler technology, or Magnetic-Inductive or Coriolis typesensor pickups. The small wall-wart attached to it contains the subGigaHertz wireless module or it can optionally communicate via PowerLine Controller (PLC). For instance, FIG. 5 depicts element 500, inwhich the Current Transformer (CT) measures current via the magneticfield generated when the current passes through it, and further in whichthe Current Transformer (CT) is used as a current measuring device.

FIG. 10 illustrates a circuit schematic of the PeakPower CMDR as setforth at element PCB 123 of FIG. 10 depicting the PeakPower CommanderBoard Schematic, in accordance with some embodiments. This shows how thetwo CT's on the left (L1 and L2) are full wave rectified (when they arenot being sampled) in order to extract power to power the device. Theynormally sample once every 15 to 30 seconds for only a few milliseconds.

The instant invention solves the problems of prior art relays too. TheMulti-Stable Relay consumes much less (near zero) energy. The onlyenergy required is a minimal amount of energy (a pulse) to change therelay from one state to another.

The Power Management and Control relays in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are novelrequiring zero electrical energy to remain enabled or disabled, referredto as a Permanent Magnet Multi-pole, Multi-Throw Relay that has amagnetic detent at every throw position requiring no electrical energyto be applied to keep it closed or open as the case may be.

This “Control” portion of this PEAKPOWER ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLSYSTEM is referred to as a Multi-Stable Magnetic Relay Multi-stablerelay method and apparatus for switching electrical power with zeroholding current. For instance, FIG. 7 depicts element 700, in which oneor more of the CTs may be switched (e.g., using very low R_(DS) ON FETs)to use it as a communications device for transmitting and receiving.FIG. 7 thus depicts one implementation for the transmit side of thePeakPower Commander Board. According to FIG. 7, one or more of the CTsmay be used for communications over the power line(s) in transmit mode.

This method and apparatus for switching power, requires no activation orhold current once it's switched to any state. Any detent state is heldby permanent magnet force and requires zero current to hold the relay inany detent state position. For instance, FIG. 8 depicts element 800, inwhich one or more of the CTs may be switched (e.g., using very lowR_(DS) ON FETs) to use it as a communications device for transmittingand receiving. FIG. 8 thus depicts one implementation for the receiveside of the PeakPower Commander Board. According to FIG. 8, one or moreof the CTs may be used for communications over the power line(s) inreceive mode.

The Relay Preferred Embodiment #1 is as disclosed in the Provisionalapplication A/N 61/087,963 filed 11 Aug. 2008 which is included in itsentirety by reference.

Preferred embodiment #2: This preferred embodiment is a simple form, aSingle Pole Double Throw (SPDT) version in FIG. 11.

The enclosure case at element 1100 is plastic and could bepolycarbonate, ABS, acrylic, etc. There are five connector pins atelement 1110 in this embodiment which make electrical contact to thePrinted Circuit Board (PCB) usually via a connector socket that issoldered down onto the PCB when it's manufactured.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the Multi-Stable Relay showing the fiveconnector pins. These pins are typically fairly large in order tominimize losses when high currents are passing through. The MainVoltage/Current Input/Output Pin at element 1200 is where the main inputcurrent/voltage or output current/voltage either enters or exits. It'sbi-directional.

The Voltage/Current Input/Output Pin-1 at element 1210 is where oneinput current/voltage or one output current/voltage either enters orexits. This pin is also referred to as NOC-1 which means “Normally Openor Closed”. This is to distinguish it from prior art which is either NOor NC. This pin is also bi-directional.

The Voltage/Current Input/Output Pin-2 at element 1230 is where a secondinput current/voltage or one output current/voltage either enters orexits. This pin is also referred to as NOC-2. This pin is alsobi-directional.

The Control Pins, Control Pulse-1 at element 1220 and Control Pulse-2 atelement 1240 are where the activation switching signal is applied.

When element 1240 is held at Ground potential and a 20 msec 12 Voltpulse is applied to element 1220 the Relay goes to STATE 1 where MAIN atelement 1200 is connected to element 1210. And it stays in that stateconsuming no detention until an opposite polarity pulse is received.

For example, when element 1220 is held at Ground potential and a 20 msec12 Volt pulse is applied to element 240 the Relay goes to STATE 2 whereMAIN at element 1200 is connected to element 1230.

And it stays in that state consuming no detention power until anopposite polarity pulse is received.

In FIG. 3 In order to move the torsion beam conductor at element 1370over to the left side and activate current flow between pins at elements1200 and 1210, the control pin at element 1220 is momentarily switchedto Ground and a 12 VDC pulse is applied to pin at element 1240 for 20msec. The pulse goes through both inductor coils.

The momentary magnetic field generated in the two coils pushes themagnet(s) to the left. Actually the Left Coil at element 1370 on theleft attracts the north pole of the magnet(s) and element 1370 on theright repels the South pole so that the magnet “sticks” to the leftferromagnetic screw, causing the osculating contact at element 1310 tomake solid contact with element 1300, the Voltage/Current Input/OutputPin-1 Static Contact and current flows with no further activation ordetent current required. Elements 1310 Voltage/Current input/outputNOC-1 Osculating contact, 1320 Reciprocating Magnet(s) Left and Right,1330 screw or rivet made of slightly ferrous material detent to attractand hold reciprocating magnet(s) left and right, 1340 planar supportbar, left and right, 1350 left to right support stiffener, 1360 Torsionbeam electrical conductor main voltage/current input/output, 1380voltage/current input/output-2 NOC-2 static contact, and 1390voltage/current input/output-2 NOC-2 osculating contact are furtherdepicted.

In order to flip the Relay to Position 2 on the right simply reverse theprocess by momentarily holding pin at element 1240 to Ground andapplying a 12 VDC pulse for 20 msec to the pin at element 1220.

An alternative method for flipping the relay is to tie one of theControl pins to ground either one of elements 1220 or 1240 and pulse theother pin with +12 VDC then −12 VDC alternately to flip it back andforth.

This Multi-Stable Relay at FIGS. 11, 12, 13 is one of the key elementsin providing Control in this EMC System. They are normally equipped witha sub-GigaHertz wireless unit so that the Gateway at element 220 canturn them on and off based on normal preset cycles or problem conditionsor due to commands received over the Internet.

In FIG. 2, element 1290 is the Wireless Thermostat which is another oneof the key control elements of this Energy Management and ControlSystem. This Thermostat contains a subGigaHertz wireless Tx/Rx radio andis controlled directly through the wireless radio in the Gateway Moduleat element 220. The Gateway Module at element 220 is connected to thePeakPower Server at element 230 via the Internet (depicted via thelightning bolts) either wired or wirelessly via Cellular wireless (e.g.3G) radio. So the end user or Energy Management person is able to changethe thermostat from virtually anywhere in the world!

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be recognized to those skilled in the art that,based upon the teachings herein, further changes and modifications maybe made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects,and thus, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope allsuch changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scopeof this invention.

1. A method for using various devices and links to manufacturer's specsand datasheets or actual specs and datasheets for the various devices,to build a device profile database based on the manufacturer'sspecifications of how much power a refrigeration device should take,along with the heuristic data acquired from each type or model number ofeach device.
 2. Automated software for updating a device(s) profilesignature over time based on real data and the real signature that isdetected from devices through the Peak Power System.
 3. A system forautomatically updating a devices profile signature over days, months,and years based on real data, and the real signature that is detectedand assimilated from many similar devices through the Peak Power System;and when a device is beginning to deviate from these adaptive signatureparametrics, the Peak Power System triggers an alert or alarm,regardless of what the operator has set the alert/alarm limits to.